5 Unnecessary, Unwanted Sequels That Bit The Dust & 5 More That Are Somehow Getting Made

Earlier today, producer/enemy of quality Neal Moritz confirmed what anyone with a brain and cursory knowledge of the box office charts of early 2011 was aware of: a sequel to "Green Hornet," his Michel Gondry-directed, Seth Rogen led superhero movie of last January, isn't happening any time soon. The film wasn't a giant flop -- it made a good-but-not-great $98 million domestically, part of a total $227 million worldwide haul. Not a bad number, but considering the movie cost $120 million plus whatever they poured into the extensive marketing campaign, the profit margin was likely razor thin.

"Inside Man 2"
A rare box-office hit for Spike Lee, twisty heist picture "Inside Man" made a thoroughly decent $90 million in the U.S, and doubled that internationally, on a $45 million budget, and development on a sequel was announced soon after. Original writer Russell Gerwitz turned in what was allegedly a shocker of a script, so "Hotel Rwanda" scribe Terry George was elicited for a new version. By that time, according to Lee, Universal were no longer interested. We can't say we mourn it: we like the original a lot, but any kind of sequel featuring the three original leads would have felt unnecessary.

"Jumper 2"
Hoped to be Fox's next big franchise, teen sci-fi tale "Jumper" proved to be something of a damp squib on release four years ago. But presumably a not-terrible international haul of $140 million (against $80m domestically) made the studio think that there might be some legs in a series. Star Hayden Christensen started to talk up the potential "darker" follow-up in interviews in 2010, in the same way that Tom Arnold always talks about a "True Lies" sequel, but rock-solid info on a sequel has never materialized, presumably because no in the world is passionate about "Jumper" in the first place.

"Wanted 2"
By some distance the biggest hit on this list, juvenile shoot-em-up "Wanted" made $340 million on a $75 million budget, which is profitable any way you split it, so it's easy to see why hit-starved Universal were keen on a follow-up. But the problem was that not many others were. The film was never particularly beloved by anyone over the age of fourteen, the film's headline star was killed off in the original, and director Timur Bekmambetov has moved on to other things. The original writers were hired back last September, so this might yet emerge, but is anyone counting the days until it does? Five will get you ten that this never makes it to production.

Five Sequels That Somehow Are Being Made
"G.I. Joe: Retaliation"Stephen Sommers' "G.I Joe: The Rise Of Cobra" wasn't exactly a home-run hit: beset by behind-the-scenes clashes and budget overages, the $175 million picture only made $150 million in the U.S, and took the same internationally, meaning that Paramount were unlikely to make a profit, at least until the ancillary markets. But with the company losing the Marvel franchises, and "Star Trek 2" delayed by a year, they needed a tentpole for this summer, and effectively rebooted the series, with a virtually all-new cast toplined by Dwayne Johnson, who gave another franchise a boost last year with "Fast Five." The presence of Bruce Willis and a cheaper budget probably helped the greenlight, but it remains to be seen if people were put off enough by the original to be fooled again.

"Silent Hill: Revelation 3D"
Yes, this is a real thing. Christophe Gans' video-game adaptation failed to set the box office alight when it bowed back in 2006, falling short of making back its $50 million production budget domestically, and closing out just south of $100 million worldwide. But presumably, the film's done well enough on home video, as "Silent Hill: Revelation 3D" went into production last year with "Solomon Kane" director Michael J. Bassett at the helm, and original stars Radha Mitchell and Sean Bean returning, along with "Game of Thrones" star Kit Harington and rising star Adelaide Clemens. Presumably, they're hoping to pull another "Resident Evil"-style franchise, and they may have found a way to keep the budget lower this time around, but of all the films on this list, this is the one we're truly baffled by.